The global dairy industry employs approximately 240 million people, who care for more than 360 million dairy cows on more than 130 million dairy farms.

Dairy production alone generates 3 million jobs in the United States, with an economic impact of more than $ 650 billion, according to a study by the International Dairy Food Association.

After highlighting these data, Tom Vilsack, director general of the US Dairy Association and former Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, stressed that dairy is a fundamental component of the diet of the entire planet, since it satisfies key nutritional needs.

«Furthermore, dairy producers and processors not only feed the world, but also promote sustainable economic development,» he said, in an article published on the blog of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

Vilsack said that most Americans believe that the collective connection to agriculture has been lost, so many underestimate the surprising effort involved in growing food or tending a herd, generating a finished food product, and taking all necessary actions to bring it. to the market.

Even in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic, food producers and farmers work to overcome major stressors that affect the supply chain, to ensure access to the required food.

Dairy cows

At the United States Dairy Products Export Council (USDEC) it has never lost sight of the fundamental role that the agri-food industry plays in meeting the nutritional needs of that nation and boosting the economy American.

Vilsack, this industry provides employment directly or indirectly to 43 million people, that is, 28% of the total United States workers.

In addition, the economic benefits it generates activate 20% of the world’s largest economy.

Dairy cows require a lot of feed. One weighing 500 kg, grazing on tetralite grass, can consume 14 kg of dry matter, which is equivalent to 70–75 kg of fresh grass (green forage).

To produce 20 kg of milk, dairy cows require, each one, 43.7 Mcal of digestible energy and 2,052 g of crude protein daily.